It seems unimaginable that the peaceful streets and countryside of Britain were once such violent places in medieval times. The land was largely under the control of powerful feudal lords and wealthy bishops. The king clung to his power by lobbying among them and seeking their support. They gave this to him in exchange for favours, for without a monarch the centre simply would not hold.
Best English Cathedrals
Carew Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales
The feudal lords raised private armies to protect their farmland, and progressively extended their homes into mighty castles. Some of these withstood everything their enemies threw at them. Most eventually fell though, were trashed, and gradually became the crumbling ruins we see today. The moss that grows between the stones belies the awful bloody tragedies of those violent days.
Canterbury Cathedral
The bishops claimed the authority of the Lord that even the kings feared, and raised mighty cathedrals to house the holy relics that attracted paying pilgrims. The ordinary people used them as meeting places where they could stop and chat, as is the custom in Britain’s shopping malls today. Holy rituals took place at altars behind carved stone screens the people never visited, because the conversation was in Latin they did not understand.
Ljubljana Cathedral, Slovenia
The English church was staunchly Catholic in the Middle Ages. As was the custom throughout Europe, bright colours, gilded ceilings, paintings on the walls and statues of the saints stood in every corner they could find. These days, we can only imagine their glorious splendour, because the Civil War destroyed the decoration forever. They may have looked like Ljubljana Cathedral in Slovenia below, although we will never know for sure because everything has been stripped away in Britain.
The Reformation
During the English Civil War of 1642 to 1651, the authority of the established church was overthrown, and the absolute power of the king replaced by parliament. As this period known as The Reformation unfolded, soldiers evicted clergy and used Britain’s great cathedrals as garrisons to sleep in, as ammunition stores, as jails for prisoners of war, and even as stables for their horses. They looted the relics, trashed the rich ornamentation and used it as firewood.
Whenever I visit an English cathedral, its awesome, simple beauty overtakes me as if the stonemasons had just finished their job. These were master artisans, in love with their material and determined to build a holy habitation for their God. They left us a gift of irreplaceable beauty, and a vision of mighty stones soaring up to heaven as if on the wings of angels. I sometimes think they look better without all their decoration.
